Australian alternative asset manager Metrics Credit Partners (MCP) secured an award for the financed emissions-focused AUD663.5 million ($461 million) sustainability-linked loan (SLL) signed by its Wholesale Investments Trust (WIT).

The revolving credit facility (RCF) – backed by seven lenders – includes three targets aimed at the most material sustainability issue faced by the WIT: financed emissions through its investment portfolio.

The first key performance indicator (KPI) is tied to improving the Data Quality Score of portfolio companies under the methodology developed by the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). The second KPI requires MCP to increase the proportion of investees with science-based targets.

An Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Awards judge was particularly impressed by the focus of these targets in ensuring MCP engages with all portfolio companies, rather than just those hard-to-abate companies.

The third KPI is related to reducing the Portfolio Temperature Score (PTS) of the WIT investment portfolio, believed to be the first SLL issued by a financial institution to utilise this metric. This is part of MCP's commitment to reducing its PTS across corporate loans, private equity and project finance to 2.3°C by 2027 from 3.2°C in 2021.